I talk to Shann, either on the phone or aim at least once a day. Our conversations center around everything, from when will we find our Mr.Big�s and Aidan�s of Sex and the City to what type of furniture we should get for our new apartment this fall. But most of the times we talk about food. We�ll talk about ANY food. Like what you ate for breakfast. For lunch. For dinner. What will you eat tomorrow? Are you going to eat any more tonight? What should we eat this summer? We even invent food in our heads. Some sound good, some don�t sound like they�ll taste good and some are just confusing like chicken teriyaki mochi balls and bacon cookies.

Well today I got a package in the mail with a return address from NYC. It was from Shann! It was not just any kind of package but the best kind, a FOOD package.

I opened it up to find an Olivia note card, which, like all Shann�s letters, manages to blend humor, good food and even better insight into things that you never thought to think about. And it somehow always leaves smile on your face after reading it. Like that feel-good feeling you get after eating a croissant.

Being the creative person she is, Shann included a paper titled �Box Contents!!!�. I was like, whoa, crazy! She had thoughtfully labeled everything in the package by alphabet with a yellow post-it note. The �Box Contents!!!� paper had a little commentary on every item, making it all the more fun to open. Kind of like a treasure hunt, only I don�t have to engage in any physical exercise.

Right underneath the card was Box A � SUPER LEMON drops. I love sour stuff. These are like Warheads�except EXTREME.

Shann�s comment brought back a memory of how when I small, I could never handle the sour outside of a warhead and always ended up running to the nearest water fountain to wash off the sour part. So sad. But now I can handle it!

I gave one to the cute boy at work (I work at the school�s career office in the afternoons) and his face got all puckery. Surely a good sign!

In Box B we have Rice Candy! The first time I had this was in elementary school and I was absolutely fascinated by the fact that I could EAT PAPER. Okay, so it was rice paper, but nonetheless, what elementary school kid wouldn�t be in love with a sticky, soft chewy candy wrapped in paper?!

I also gave cute boy a piece, but methinks he is more partial to the sour lemons. It's a tie for me: edible paper and sour lemons, it's hard to play favorites :)

I was really excited about Box C because I am borderline obsessed with collecting Pretz and Pocky boxes. At first I thought it was because I really liked eating them, but now I�ve realized that more so than eating, I love to look at and examine the boxes. They�re fascinating! The one you see here is the French Toast four pack (it has become a two pack as of 5 minutes ago).

It has that sweet-salty business going with a maple-y syrup linger after you pop a stick. Pretz and Pocky are one of those funny foods. Like potato chips, I rarely crave them, but if I start on one, there is NO WAY I can stop till I�ve gone through the entire box.

I�ve only been to Ikea once in my entire life. And that�s because I can�t find anyone who is willing to drive me to West Covina for the sole purpose of picking up food products from a furniture store. But Ikea food is good! Like their Swedish meatballs? I could eat those day and night! Go on over to Reid�s site at Ono Kine Grindz credit � he made his own meatballs from the Ikea cookbook! And of course the meatballs are not complete without a side of lingonberry preserves, straight from Ikea. And even if I don�t have meatballs, this would totally go with a buttery hot biscuit. Or waffles. Like totally ;)

�E� is the Swedish Pancake and Waffle Mix. I am going to use them with the lingonberry preserves for breakfast this weekend! Oooh and some powdered sugar on top, that will be good! Or maybe even a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream�..

But the coolest thing was Tonkatsu Sauce! It has been confirmed that tonkatsu sauce is no longer limited to chicken katsu but goes good with EVERYTHING. Especially over a bowl of hot rice and tuna. And even with the Thai kind ramen if you prepare it the �dry� way.

Thanks so much for sending this Shann! It makes this week (and the weeks to come!) so much more food-fun, hehe :) I will leave you all with a wise comment from Shann during our recent discussion on donuts, �well, donuts are more lusty. You can't love donuts. They're more like one-night food stands.� I could use a one-night food stand right about now ;)